I was delighted to attend the Gurkha Memorial Fund charity dinner at the Leas Cliff Hall last Friday night. This charity was initially set up to raise money to create the Gurkha Memorial statue, which has quickly established itself as one of the focal points of Christ Church gardens in Folkestone. The statue stands as a physical […]
The Department for Education has confirmed that the Folkestone Free School will open in September 2018 as the successor school to Pent Valley. This announcement delivers on the promise made when it was decided that Pent Valley was to close; that there would be a new school to replace it, on the same site, and […]
This week the Care Quality Commission (CQC) has released a new report following its inspection of the Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust, which provides mental health, learning disability and substance misuse services as well as other specialist services to 1.7 million people across Kent and Medway. The CQC has been able to report on […]
On Wednesday last week, the Prime Minster wrote to the President of the European Council, Donald Tusk, giving formal notification, under the terms of Article 50, of the intention of the United Kingdom to leave the European Union. Since the referendum held on 23rd June last year, the government, with the support of parliament, has […]
The terrorist attack in Westminster on Wednesday last week murdered the lives of innocent people in the name of an undefined cause. Once again, people’s response to those tragic events as they unfolded showed Britain at its best. At 2.40pm that afternoon I was walking, along with a group of around 20 MPs to […]
Once again Folkestone has been listed by The Times newspaper as one of the top ten coolest places to live in Britain. This is good timing as the venues and attractions on the Folkestone harbour arm prepare to re-open at the end of this month. The harbour arm has not only become a popular attraction […]
On Wednesday last week, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond, presented his first budget to the House of Commons. One of the most important measures in the Budget, was the additional £2billion to support social care services; something that will help patients and their families, right across the country. I have written before in […]
The Folkestone Youth Project, better known to its friends and users as The Shed, has been a feature of life in the harbour area of the town since it first opened its doors over ten years ago. The initial idea, which was brought forward by Go Folkestone, was to create a skateboard park in the […]
At the end of last week, the Folkestone Churches Winter Shelter closed for the season, after three months working to support some of the most vulnerable people in our society. Every night, from the beginning of December through to the end of February it has opened in different church halls across the town providing a […]
The revaluation of Business Rates has provoked considerable interest and concern over recent weeks. This is the first revaluation for seven years, and the new bills are due to be sent out to businesses over the next couple of weeks. The revaluation itself has to be neutral for the government in cash terms; so it […]